Beating Netflix: Dinsey+ gains 14.4 million subscribers in Q3, hits the 152.1 million mark

Walt Disney Company on Wednesday released its third-quarter results which showed that itsDisney+ streaming platformhad added a whopping 14.4 million customers in the fiscal quarter, taking the total tally to 152.1 million.

Add the numbers from Hulu and ESPN+ and Disney appears to have overtakenNetflix, whose subscribers count stood at 220.7 million, as of July.

Disney CEO Bob Chapek in hispresentation to investors stated, "We had an excellent quarter, with our world-class creative and business teams powering outstanding performance at our domestic theme parks, big increases in live-sports viewership, and significant subscriber growth at our streaming services."

The Disney boss further added, "With 14.4 million Disney+ subscribers added in the fiscal third quarter, we now have 221 million total subscriptions across our streaming offerings."

It is pertinent to note that during this quarter, Walt Disney took an ambitious gamble and launched the streaming platform in40 countries across Europe, Africa and Western Asia.

The numbers defy the analyst forecasts

The announcement beat several forecasts as it was predicted that Dinsey+ might lose out on paying customers due to losing out on the streaming rights of lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL) to Viacom 18, earlier this year.

Disney+ goes by the name of Dinsey+ Hotstar in India and several other Asian markets and according to data released on Wednesday, the total number of subscribers from the region stood at 58.4 million, comfortably greater than the combined 44.5 million subscribers in US and Canada.

Moreover, Dinsey's revenue stood at$21.5 billion at the end of Q3, greater than most estimates which pegged the earnings to be around $20.68 billion.

Disney recently announced its slate of Marvel movies and TV series to be released in Phase 5. Additionally, shows such asThe Mandalorian, Loki,Obi-Wan Kenobi, Moon Knight etc. have helped the platform to add new subscribers.

Speaking about bringing new storylines, Bob signed off by saying,“We continue to transform entertainment as we near our second century, with compelling new storytelling across our many platforms and unique immersive physical experiences that exceed guest expectations, all of which are reflected in our strong operating results this quarter.”

(With inputs from agencies)

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